"Well, I'm glad that Rob's optimistic about his situation," Belichick said Tuesday, according to the Patriots' official site. "We'll go through the week of practice and take a look at everything, everybody and see where everybody is at and do what we feel like is best for the team.

"With all due respect to Rob, I'm glad he feels the way he does but in the end, we'll have to make the decision that we feel is best for the team and we'll do that as we go through the week."

"Rob has been practicing, and we've been doing some different things, building our offensive system and packages as we go throughout the course of the year," McDaniels said. "He's been a part of that. Whatever we can or are available to use him to do -- however big, small, whatever the decision is at the end of the week -- and he'll be ready to do it."

The Pats' coaching staff can try to drop a veil of secrecy here, but the Dolphins and the rest of the NFL expect to see Gronk back on the field Sunday. Barring a setback, the tight end will be back. The real question is how many snaps Gronk will get.